If you're an 'all the vibes and not much plot' girlie, then this is for you! Luckily I'm one of those, and I just find Alix E Harrow's writing so beautiful, so atmospheric, and so REAL. I genuinely feel like I'm inside whatever world she creates and I forget I'm reading. The town Alix creates here is called Eden. It's a small, old town that is full of nothing but bad luck and a dark past. You really do pick up on that small-town feeling where everyone knows everyone, yet, everyone is also keeping a small secret. And because of that feeling/atmospheric prose, I found myself just wanting to stay in this town/story and uncover the truth alongside the main character, Opal.

So let's move on to the characters because this is where it lacked a little for me, sadly. Coming off the back of The Once and Future Witches, I was expecting that same multi-layered character depth and to enjoy witnessing their arcs throughout this story but... it never quite hit the mark for me. Sure, Opal has her witty/sassy moments and we get to witness her unpacking her trauma, but I felt like she was pretty much the same character from the beginning as she was at the end... Plus, she felt a little 'tropey' for me -- ugh, I hate myself for even saying that but it's true. I was expecting a more nuanced and complicated character here, and the same goes for Arthur.

Their story was still nice to read, even though it was also a tragic one! And I have to say I also really enjoyed the epilogue.

Other things I enjoyed and wasn't expecting:
-Starling House basically being a sentient character? (Loved that)
-The illustrations
-The footnotes
-Mixed media (Wikipedia page insert)

and overall just that rich, dark fairytale vibe that I hope you know I LOVE.

In the end, this story felt enchanting and I had a great time with it - I just wish it pulled me a little deeper into that rabbit hole full of nightmares...

Thank you to NetGalley + Pan Macmillan for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

his spellbinding story from Alix E. Harrow is the perfect read this spooky season. It feels like a cosy, contemporary take on a gothic fairytale, complete with an imposing haunted house and touch of romance.

In the small town of Eden in Kentucky, Opal, has is having a hard time raising her younger brother alone since her wayward mother passed away. They’re living on the breadline in a motel, and she’s getting by and supporting her small family working at the local Tractor Supply. But something draws her towards the mysterious old Starling House on the outskirts of town. It’s the house where a famous reclusive author resided, one whom Opal read avidly as a child.

“The house comes into view all at once, like it stepped out from behind a black curtain. It’s more mysterious at night, more alive, maybe just more. There’s a tension to the shape of it against the sky…The vines rustle and tremble against the stone. Mist coils around every sill and eave. Every window is dark.”

Opal begins a new job cleaning the house, and slowly gets to know its reclusive current occupant, Arthur. Arthur is the typical brooding, lonely figure you’d expect occupying a haunted house, in fact he rarely ever leaves the house and spends most of his days locked away alone – until Opal enters his life.

“His face is all hard angles and sullen bones split by a beak of a nose, and his hair is a tattered wing an inch sky of becoming a mullet. His eyes are clawing into mine.”

There’s strong themes of family, as Opal is fiercely protective of her younger brother, and gradually learns more about her mother’s past and her own identity. Opal’s small but close network is juxtaposed against Arthur, who lives his life completely isolated. But as Opal is drawn more and more into the mysterious world of Starling House, the history of the town and Arthur’s role in all of it, she discovers there’s more to him than meets the eye.

This is an evocative, enchanting modern take on a gothic tale. The author’s writing is as lush and vivid as ever, and her descriptions of the house, town and characters are stunning. I have to admit I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as her previous Doors of January and The Once and Future Witches. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I think it might be the setting of present day. The haunting old house, rich history and beautiful writing just didn’t marry quite right with the characters texting and the motel setting – although I’m sure this juxtaposition was intentional and others may enjoy it.

Still, it’s an atmospheric story, perfect for the time of year, I just didn’t love it quite as much as those previous two books. But, I will continue to follow everything this author does – she has a uniquely enchanting writing style, a wild imagination and an ability to write captivating, unique stories.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillian for the letting me read and review Starling House.
I went into this book without reading anything about it and I defiantly recommend doing it that way.
We start of with a small town fmc Opal who is currently living in a motel room with her younger brother Jasper. Opal has been having weird dreams about a creepy gated house for a for over a decade. On her way home from work one day she stops off to look at the house where she meets out MMC Arthur. After accidently cutting herself on the gates and bleeding over them the only words she hears from Arthur is run. Which would make anyone stay away from the creepy house with the creepy man but not Opal. She turns up the next day and ends up working at the house as a maid. While cleaning up the decaying house she makes a few discoveries and strange things have been happening around town.
This book had be gripped from the first page and the twists and turns made it hard for me to put my kindle down. I grew to love all the characters even some of the less main ones who one turned up a couple of times.
This story is the perfect mystery with found family. Perfect for autumn.

<I>‘The only monsters here are the ones we make’ </I>

A haunted house, it’s mysterious anti-social owner, a prickly FMC with realistic baggage, spooky stories and persistent dreams- this was honestly THE perfect October read!

Opal has been dreaming about Starling House since she was a child, and although she knows she shouldn’t, when she gets the offer to work within the house she can’t resist.
Opal and Arthur were both fantastic characters to follow, and I found this a fantastic gothic tale about money, power, small town secrets and finding you way and a home in a world that doesn’t seem to want you.

I am in love with Alix E. Harrow’s writing style!

***thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review***

This was my first Alix E. Harrow book, but the premise of the story grabbed me so I jumped in. And although the story was interesting and certainly kept me reading, it wouldn't encourage me to read more.

There's little I can really say about the story without giving anything away. I will say that the story is very interesting and it was that that kept me reading. And keep reading you must because I found it very slow and drawn out and then a fast, rushed ending. It was a shame more fleshing out wasn't done further in the story rather than a speed ending.
As for the characters....I found Opal to be very irritating and jumped between immature and old, of course this could be due to the trauma of losing her parents. whatever it was it made her character very unlikable for me. And Arthur I found to be weak. Really not a character driven story for me.

Having said all that I would recommend this one for a bedside table spooky season read.

This was really compelling. It was about so much more than what the synopsis promises. It was really good and I will always be interested in books by this author. However, this wasn’t a new favourite, unfortunately. There were a few issues I had that I couldn’t put to one side.

I definitely recommend this book though!

3.5 stars

Starling house is the first book I have read by Alix E. Harrow. I have heard a lot about her previous books, one being the Ten Thousand Doors of January so this was a highly anticipated read for me.

Starling house is an enchanting story and a perfect autumnal read.

This book has been categorised in horror which I don't completely agree with. I don't believe it truly fits in this category for a variety of reasons but the main one being that I did not find it 'scary' at all.

I found the ending a little confusing and far fetched, I didn't really make much sense to me and felt incomplete.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and looked forward to seeing how it would end, even if the ending was a little strange...

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

I just reviewed Starling House by Alix E. Harrow. #StarlingHouse #NetGalley

Well this book is strange but I could not put this down I was hooked straight away I hope in the future there is more coming like this

Starling House is a gothic-themed tale of love, loss and belonging. The writing was spot on and really gave the haunting vibe of spooky season. A slow burner at the beginning but from about halfway through I was hooked. The house itself is a main background character and added a lot of intrigue and charm into the plot. Definitely a fun quirky read for the Autumn/Halloween period.

This book is everything I wanted it to be. A beautifully written Gothic fairytale. All of the characters felt so richly developed. The story itself was captivating from Start to finish. I didn't want to put it down.
I highly recommend this book!!

Hmmmmm tough one again! Was this meant to be YA? The protagonist is meant to be 27 but her voice sounds about 10 years younger than that. There was also a kind of enemies to lovers trope going on.

The overall idea for the story was superb - I wont say much about it as it would give things away. It's a great light read for Halloween, October, wintery vibes - lots of this going on. I feel like it would have been better as a novella, as there wasn't a whole lot of story to keep the narrative going. Very much just listening to Opal's internal monologue. Much the same as Olivie Blake - but to be fair, this is superior. Lots of words, not saying very much.

Great idea, not much plot. All about the Character personal development where I'd rather have had more on the house.

This felt like a dark, twisted fairytale retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but with a gothic grittiness that worked really well.
I liked the grim reality of the characters, and the “ugliness” of their descriptions. It was well written and proves that we don’t need beautiful shiny heroes, it also finds a deeper beauty in the underlying personality.
I really enjoyed it, and would definitely read this author again.

📖 ℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝔼𝕎 📖 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Title: Starling House
Author: Alix E Harrow
Genre: Gothic

𝘖𝘱𝘢𝘭 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘯. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘥𝘦𝘯. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 – 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘳, 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳. 𝘐𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥: 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘥𝘦𝘯 – 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘱𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 . . .

📖 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨:
Okay so this gives aaaaall the gothic spooktober vibes. I found the first third hard to get through though. Possibly because it was an audiobook but I found it very YA. The FMC says things like ‘Christ on a bicycle’ which is just cringey for me. Picked up towards the middle and we see our lovely Opal working at Starling house and starting to uncover its secrets.

The final 1/3 of the audiobook I was pacing around the house and unable to sit still as I needed to know what happened. I sped it up and told everyone to leave me alone. So overall I enjoyed it. Tense final few chapters.

Perfect if you like:
🏚️haunted house with sentience
🌚small town
🏚️ main characters narrating their thoughts
🙎🏻‍♂️brooding/grumpy males

Be aware content/triggers:
‼️parental loss

*please note I received this ARC for free via NetGalley and independently decided to submit an honest review*

A contemporary gothic fairy tale about a small town haunted by the history it can't quite seem to bury and the canny, clever young woman who finds herself drawn to the house that sits at the crossroads of it all.


WOW. I loved this so much!!!!
At first I was apprehensive that I would not be as intrigued because it was reminding me of some other books i've read that have the same manner in the beginning but after reading about 60 pages, I could not put this down!!!

Opal is a strong woman who only wants the best for her brother and that really shines through the whole book but I enjoyed seeing her go after what she wants eventually.

Loved Arthur's character, seeing him slowly fall for Opal was so fun because I think she was definitely oblivious for the first while but us readers could sense it a mile off.

The ending was the only thing that fell flat for me, I was unsure of how to take it and was a little bit disappointed.

Overall, I loved this and rated it 4 stars! I look forward to reading more of Alix E. Harrow's books!

I absolutely love everything this author writes, and this was no exception. It was my most anticipated book this year and it didn’t disappoint. Full of colourful characters, absolutely stunning prose, and a perfectly creepy atmosphere. Alix E. Harrow has become one of my all time favourite authors. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for a chance to read and review this book!

My thanks to Netgalley, Tor, and Alix E Harrow for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I am a little disappointed with this one. All the reviews I read were singing this books' praises, so I suppose expectations were high, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as expected.

The romance was really not fleshed out enough for me to believe in. There was no real build up to it, and it felt almost a little forced? Like it was being put in to make a point of it being there rather than it being a natural thing.

Also Opal really reads as much younger than 26! Much more like a teenager than a 20something.

It all felt just a bit rushed for me, sadly.

i am obsessed. the vibes were immaculate and i need more. this was such a cosy autumnal book and the cover is just as gorgeous as the writing. 10/10!!!!! 10000/10!!!!

Starling House by Alix E Harrow is a gothic fairytale. The writing is atmospheric, evocative and engaging. It pulled me in immediately and got me interested in the mystery around Starling House and its occupants. Also I think the cover is fantastic!

I cannot say the characters in this story are likeable. They are all incredibly flawed, keep making horrible decisions and refuse to learn from their mistakes. This was starting to really annoy me towards the middle of the book but I was relieved to find out that there is character growth at the end.

In terms of plot, I have to say I was disappointed. I read so many good reviews that made me super excited for this book. Naturally, my expectations were quite high to start with. However, I found the plotline to be quite shallow and I saw most of the major twists coming. I expected more from the mystery and from the final outcome. Unfortunately, the predictability made me lose interest and I struggled to finish the book. There was not an awful lot of "horror" here. I'm unsure why the book is marketed as such.

Overall, I think Starling House is a fine gothic fairytale. I recommend it for those who are looking for something "right" for the spooky season. But to the thriller and horror lovers, I'm afraid this may be disappointing.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Starling House is a cozy yet gothic and eerie fantasy about Arthur (the lonely and creepy heir of Starling House) and Opal (an orphaned girl with dreams of a haunted house and no real place to call home).

What I enjoyed:
1. The book had a good pace and the author did a good job of of creating and describing the run down town of Eden and the creepiness of Starling House without it being too over descriptive.
2. The characters, especially Opal, felt real. The way the Opal acts and what she does/prioritises, although frustrating at times, felt believable especially given all she had been through.
3. Throughout the book we get given passages of the “Story of Starling House” through different characters based on the rumours and stories they were told. I loved that it was done this way as you can see the similarities in the stories and where the story was bent and changed as it was told and retold over the years.
4. I loved the mystery surrounding Starling House. I could feel the main character’s desperation to discover the truth and it made me want to never put the book down.

Negatives
1. I found that the romance in this wasn’t fleshed out enough for it to be believable. It felt sudden and random and as if the author was adding it purely for the sake of it.
2. I felt the ending was fine but I do wish that there was more to it. The reason to why things were happening, I understood but I wish there was more to the the magic and myth of Starling House and how things were happening than what there was.
3. There were still quite a few unanswered questions towards the end - unless maybe I skipped past the answers??? Like, what was Baine’s real purpose??

Overall, I did really enjoy this and I highly recommend it, especially if you’re looking for a nice cozy read with just a hint of eeriness. I do have to say though, this is definitely not a horror/scary book which is what I initially thought it would be. I scare easily and this definitely was nowhere near scary/horror.

4.5 stars. I have enjoyed everything I've read by Alix E. Harrow and this was no exception. Starling House started slowly for me but I am glad I stuck with it; the gradual set-up pays off and I found it a real page-turner once I hit 40% or so. The evocative writing style builds the atmosphere seamlessly, and the attention to detail is perfect - you feel as though you're there in the motel or the Dollar General or the old mansion with Opal without ever once feeling impatient with an overload of description. Speaking of Opal, what a compelling protagonist - spiky and embittered but completely relatable as you are privy to her inner monologue. We never see into Arthur's mind in quite the same way, but this is much more Opal's story than his so I didn't see that as an issue. Beautiful themes of acceptance and agency, natal family and found family, love and building a meaningful life, Recommended without hesitation.